Behind-The-Scenes Photos Of GOP Obamacare Repeal Bill As It Failed In A Dramatic Late-Night Vote

The GOP’s "skinny" Affordable Care Act repeal bill failed to pass the Senate in a late-night vote early Friday, with Sen. John McCain among the three Republican lawmakers to vote against the last-ditch effort. Senators Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski also came out against the legislation.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell called the 49-51 vote a “disappointing moment” after the final tally, saying the bill was an effort to make up for the “suffering” endured under Obamacare. The vote came after President Trump urged Republican lawmakers to pass the legislation earlier Thursday, writing on Twitter, “Go, Republican Senators! Go! Get there after waiting for seven years.”

Go Republican Senators, Go! Get there after waiting for 7 years. Give America great healthcare!

We pay for schools we don't attend but others do. We pay for roads we never drive but others do. We pay for a military at time when we are not at war. It's called a society, this bullshit of I did everything myself is crap unless you've never lived in a community you've benefited to a greater or lesser extent from everyone around you. Health care is no different. The truth is we have been paying for coverage for everyone all along, anyone can go to the emergency room. We just have been doing it the dumbest way possible, costs the most and is the least effective.

The manufactured outrage in 2009, from the Republican congress and Fox News, was never about the ACA it was a concentrated effort to stop President Obama from passing ANY legislation let alone a major piece of legislation like that one. Now the Tea Party, that was created to obstruct Obama, is biting the hand that feeds it and the Democrats in congress are sitting back and laughing.

President Trump you don't get to go out there and say watch it implode, HE OWNS IT now. So does the GOP. They have all the power to repeal and or replace. The reason they can't is because Obama took their damn plan and used it. They are incompetent. Over 70 times did the vote to repeal pass, now that they have power they can't repeal it. I'm glad they didn't but it just shows how much of a fraud the GOP really is. They talk a mean game but they cannot govern. It's time to get Liberals in power.

megrendel I'm sick of this type of attitude, The GOP is full of "liberals disguised as Republicans"? REALLY? John Mccain is a liberal now? You aren't that stupid. So quit writing stupid things. Listen Liberals want to move forward, people like you just want to hold everyone else back. Healthcare should be and will be a right. The ass-backwardness from the Conservatives now is ridiculous.

ACA is Health Insurance, not Health Care. It is forcing you to pay for things you don't need under duress.

If Health Care is a right, than what exactly does that mean? Does it mean that your neighbors, through the government, are obligated to provide all health care for you? Does it mean that anyone can demand the government to pay for hospitalization, for prescription drugs, and for specialty treatments such as organ transplants? Does it mean that every American has a right to the free use of skill and knowledge of all physicians and providers?

That would be "No".

I have my rights as recognized by the First Amendment, but I do not claim others should pay for my computer, my billboards, etc.I have my rights as recognized by the Second Amendment, yet do you see me demanding you pay for me a new AR-15?

Yes, you have a right to health CARE. That right that YOU have puts no burden on anyone else to subsidize it.

megrendel I have to respectfully disagree. I have always been forced to pay for insurance with every employer I have had over my 20 year career. ACA is nothing new and contributing to a better, healthier society where overall Health Care is affordable is fine by me.

I don't mind paying more for those who can't afford it...it is better for the country as a whole and I can afford it. But in reality, my health insurance has actually slightly decreased in cost while increasing in what is provided since the ACA has been in effect.

Read this with a clear mind that's willing to accept that you were wrong and there's another plan possible:

Health insurance is, in principle, mandatory for residents of Japan, whether through employers or government municipalities. The devil is in the details. There are five basic forms of health insurance: (1) Private, (2) Subsidized private, (3) Multi-payer, (4) Single-payer, and (5) Socialist. In the rich world, only (1) is used in the U.S. Employer healthcare in the U.S. is essentially entirely private, although government is indirectly involved via the tax code, which allows employees to receive health coverage free of taxes.

All of these except for (1) are universal healthcare systems. They differ only in how they deliver services and pay for them, and they can all work well. France, often cited as the best healthcare system in the world, is technically multi-payer, but really only a hair’s breadth away from single-payer. This is a semantic distinction for most of us, since there’s usually little difference between universal single-payer and universal multi-payer. Because of that, in the U.S. we tend to refer to all universal systems as single-payer.

None of these systems cover literally every dime of healthcare coverage either. For example, Canada is single-payer but doesn’t cover all prescription drugs. Different provinces have different rules. In most countries, it’s possible to purchase supplementary insurance to cover the gaps in the national system, something that’s necessary because they all have various co-pays and exceptions.

The U.S. is unique in that we have various forms of basic health insurance. The VA system is socialized. Medicaid and traditional Medicare are single-payer. Medicare Advantage is multi-payer. The Obamacare model is subsidized private. Despite this, we still lack universal healthcare. Why? One reason is the fact that the U.S. is unique in that one of its two major parties do not accept the principle of universal coverage.

My main point, which is the root of the problem with the GOP is their inability to accept the principle of universal coverage, no matter the method(s) of achieving it. Obviously they do not support systems like single-payer. What about subsidized private, which countries like Switzerland use? No. The national GOP has done everything in their power to sabotage the ACA exchanges, and if any form of their pending healthcare legislation were to pass, would make everything that people hate about the U.S. healthcare system far worse. Not even employer coverage will be spared.

Whether you’re speaking of the Left or the Right, the fact is that the vast majority of people don’t care what system we have. What they care about is being able to get the help they need without having to go bankrupt in the process. And the first step in getting rising healthcare costs under control, at least for the GOP, is accepting the principle of universal coverage, otherwise they’ll continue needlessly antagonizing the Democrats and pushing them farther and farther to the Left on this particular issue.

pleasestopnormalfreak2 I can't find the article that mentions the son that went on a business trip while his mom was in a french hospital and when he came back he found out the doctor had talked her into euthanasia by making her think she was a burden to her son.

Since I can't find the article, I guess it didn't happen. So you can all continue your life of ignorance without unfortunate facts invading your reality.

johncourage Well at least you're attempting to feign honesty. It's a start! I don't wish to be ignorant, if it is happening I want to know....But I'm a well read individual and I've never heard of such a thing. That doesn't mean I know everything, I do miss some things but extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.

markust123 Almost there. The ACA is a way for more people to be able to get health insurance.

Some people gained insurance, some people lost insurance. (Overall, a net gain)

Many people are technically 'insured' under ACA, but still can't afford care. With high premiums and really high deductibles, many find it affordable.

And many people are paying for shit they'll never need. Do 'I' really need to pay for maternity coverage? I'm pretty sure I'll never need that. Many lost affordable insurance plans because it didn't meet ACA's minimum, even though the things they were missing they didn't need to begin with.

I know business owners that have a hard time staffing in November and December because their employees on ACA have to quit for fear of losing their subsidies.

megrendel "And many people are paying for shit they'll never need. Do 'I' really need to pay for maternity coverage? I'm pretty sure I'll never need that."

I've never understood this argument. The plans were setup generic to reduce overhead costs. You'll never use maternity, women will never use boner pills. There are all sorts of things everyone will not use.